Wimbledon Curse? Injured Marketa Vondrousova Will Take Break From Tennis

2023 Wimbledon Champion Marketa Vondrousova announced that she will be taking a break from tennis.  The unplanned break is to improve the health of her shoulder and arm.

Vondrousova said. “I now have a few months of intensive training and rehabilitation to get my arm back together. Patience and time are my priorities right now.”

Marketa Vondrousova is unfortunately no stranger to injuries that sideline her from the sport.  She dealt with injuries prior to her miraculous 2023 Wimbledon run.

Is It A Wimbledon Curse?

She is not the only recent Wimbledon competitor to be in this situation.  Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur has been dealing with chronic injuries for the past couple of seasons.  2024 Wimbledon Champion Barbora Krejcikova dealt with injuries early last year and has yet to play this year because of subsequent injuries.  2022 Wimbledon Champion Elena Rybakina has also had health issues in recent years.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a quick update regarding my withdrawal from the Australian Open. Unfortunately, my back injury, which troubled me at the end of last season, is still not fully healed. It’s really disappointing because I love playing in Melbourne and have such…

— Barbora Krejcikova (@BKrejcikova) January 5, 2025

Marketa Vondrousova Is The Latest To Show Just How Hard Tennis Is

Tennis is a difficult sport.  However, recent events demonstrate that it is even harder to get back into competitive form after injuries and layoffs.  Because it is not a team sport, the individual has to carry his or her load.

It differs from golf in that golfers can get competitive ready with practice rounds.  Tennis players need match play with their peers to be ready for a comeback.

Players who lost yesterday in the first round of the Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open further illustrate this.  Naomi Osaka came back from childbirth last year to sustain an injury early this year as she was finding her form.  Petra Kvitova is two tournaments into her comeback from over a year off for maternity leave.  Reilly Opelka’s wrist issues kept him off the court for years, and he is struggling to find his form and stamina in tournaments.

Longevity in tennis could be a tougher goal to attain.  It is unclear if there will be players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic had decades long careers, and Nadal was perhaps the most affected by injury but somehow was able to keep coming back.

Hopefully Vondrousova is back on the WTA Tour soon when she is completely healthy.  Her game is fun to watch.